I Just Love Berlin

Unity Day!
This city is perfect. This week we celebrated German Unity Day with a 4 day weekend, and I've been making the most of it. The fun began on Tuesday, when I went to see La Traviata at the Deutsch Opera. It was a long and beautiful show (with German and English captioning). The female lead was one of the most talented singers I've ever seen live. At the end, the cast came out for like a dozen bows, and everyone just kept clapping. I hope to go again before I leave Berlin.

On Wednesday evening, I went to a reading by Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer. She was an adorable 97 year old woman, who spent an entire hour reading her biography to us. She told her story of her family's arrest in 1943, shortly before she went into hiding for a year and three months. She was hidden by the Berlin Underground (if you've seen The Pianist, picture that sort of hiding). Her family was killed in Auschwitz immediately upon arrival, and she tells her story with clear remainders of survivors guilt. She didn't write her book until after her husband's death in the early 2000's, and moved back to Berlin in 2010. She talked about this controversial decision with us, explaining how she's here not to face her perpetrators, but to connect with 3rd and 4th generations about the issue. She preached empathy; "All blood is human blood, regardless of race or religion or age." It was a really special experience.

On Thursday, I took off on my own to the Babylon (which is my new favorite place ever). I saw "The Threepenny Opera," a 1933 satire musical about class conflict and crime and gender and it was SO GOOD. I've decided it will be the subject of my film class research paper. I also had a kouign-amann for the first time ever--I just love patisserie. I am so excited for France, and French dessert.

Yesterday, a friend and I ventured to the Neues Museum, which features Roman and Greek statues, sculptures, and art. I have so little knowledge on ancient history that places like that always leave me feeling inspired to read more. It was a pretty cold day, so we went for some Vietnamese food and then to Alexanderplatz for shopping. I bought new sneakers, and am one small step closer to being a true Berliner.